Clotilda and Africatown Today

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Social Studies

Grade(s)

5

Overview

Students will utilize the text of Senate Resolution 315 to pose a question as a class.  They will view a news story about the Africatown Heritage House Museum and use the video to answer the question in a class discussion. The class will formulate additional questions about the news story and conduct an internet search to locate the information to answer those questions using digital sources.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 5

SS10.5.6

Describe colonial economic life and labor systems in the Americas.

UP:SS10.5.6

Vocabulary

  • economic
  • labor system
  • establishment
  • Triangular Trade Route
  • Hemisphere
  • Americas
  • Latin America
  • North America
  • South America
  • island

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Each colony's economic life and labor system was unique and based on the geographic location of the colony.
  • Most slaves came from a variety of countries in Africa and were brought to the Americas by slave traders using the Triangular Trade Route.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Locate each colony on a physical and political map.
  • Describe and explain the types of labor used in each colony (indentured servitude, slaves, free blacks, merchants, farmers, shipping, fishing/whaling, among others).
  • Trace, examine and evaluate the Triangular Trade Route and its impact on colonial economy and labor systems.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Different labor systems were used to build and grow each of the 13 colonies.
  • Slave labor was brought to the Americas by the Northern colonial shipping industry and purchased and used in the Caribbean islands and Southern colonies.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 5

SS10.5.6.1

Recognizing centers of slave trade in the Western Hemisphere and the establishment of the Triangular Trade Route
ELA21.5.28
ELA21.5.38
ELA21.5.38a

Learning Objectives

The students will:

recognize Mobile as a site of slave trade.

formulate a question and use a video source to answer it.

conduct an online search to find information about the Africatown Heritage House Museum and Clotilda exhibit

Activity Details

The teacher will

  1. Project the text of Senate Resolution 315. Review it with the class, and direct the students to focus first on the statement about the ship landing in Mobile Bay. Allow them time to respond with what they have learned about Mobile as a center of slave trade.
  2. Shift the focus to the last part of the resolution, statements 4A and Bi, ii, and iii. Review these statements as a group.  
  3. Direct students to note the following question by posting it on the board or screen. Let them know they will be watching a video with the purpose of answering the question.  

Since the resolution was passed in February of 2020, have efforts been made to preserve and protect the Clotilda and associated historic sites in Africatown, Alabama; and to use the discovery of the Clotilda to provide education to local, national, and international audiences?

4.  Show the 2-minute 6-second video.

5.  Point out the date of the news story (July 2023) and allow the students time to respond to the question aloud and discuss as a group if they feel the opening of the Africatown Heritage House Museum is fulfilling the statements in the resolution. They likely will feel that it does. The teacher may want to open the discussion to include what more might be done to fulfill the resolution’s statement.  

6.  Discuss the museum.  Perhaps some of the students have visited it. On the board or interactive whiteboard, record questions the group has about visiting the museum. Guide them to ask:

  1. Where is it located?
  2. What days/times is it open?
  3. How much are tickets?

Include any additional questions they may have.  

  1.  Give them time to conduct an internet search to locate the information about the museum. This information can be found in multiple places; however, the official website is https://clotilda.com/ and most questions can likely be answered using that website. As they find the information, record their answers on the board.  
  2. As a group, add an event for the opening of the Africatown Heritage House Museum to the History of Enslavement Collaborative Timeline started in previous related learning activities.  

Assessment Strategies

Monitor student responses and internet searches to see that they recognize Mobile as a site of the slave trade, use the video to accurately answer the class question, and locate information about the museum using digital sources.

Acceleration

Allow students to conduct an internet search to locate additional evidence that the Senate resolution’s statements are or are not being fulfilled.

Intervention

Break the video news story into smaller parts by pausing the video at natural breaks.  Discuss its content in relation to the class question to guide students who need extra support.  

In step 7, direct struggling students to use the official website of the Africatown Heritage House Museum to locate the information instead of doing an internet search. Provide students with a printed copy of the information they are looking for.

 

Background / Preparation

Students will need to be familiar with the transatlantic slave trade, specifically Mobile as a site of slave trade. They will need to be familiar with Senate Resolution 315 as read in the associated before activity. Students will need basic computer searching skills and reading skills. The teacher will need to be aware that the history of enslavement is a sensitive topic and should be taught with sensitivity and following school district policies related to teaching the topic. The teacher should be familiar with Senate Resolution 315 and should preview the video of the news story about the Africatown Heritage House museum. The teacher will need to determine before class how to project/show the video, the collaborative timeline, and the questions determined by the class. The teacher will need to know where students will locate the information about the museum, most likely on the official website listed below in the activity instructions.

Learning Activity (Before)

Memorializing the Discovery of Clotilda’s Wreckage

Total Duration

16 to 30 Minutes

Learning Activity (During)

Clotilda and Africatown Today

Learning Activity (After)

What We Learned About Clotilda’s Survivors

Materials and Resources

Teacher Materials

Student Materials

  • Computer with internet
U.S. Senate Resolution 315
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-resolution/315/text
Africatown Heritage House and Clotilda Exhibit Set to Open Saturday
https://youtu.be/5G1xRgstlv8?feature=shared

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

sjordan
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